Iran appears to confirm ties to Qatar with food shipments

CNN:
Five Iranian planes filled with food have landed at Doha airport as the blockade against Qatar by Saudi Arabia and other Gulf countries starts to bite.

Iran said the planes were filled with vegetables and that it plans to send 100 tons of fresh fruit and legumes every day to the import-dependent nation, according to the semi-official Tasnim news agency.

"So far five planes carrying ... vegetables have been sent to Qatar, each carrying around 90 tonnes of cargo, while another plane will be sent today," Iran Air spokesman Shahrokh Noushabadi told the Agence France-Presse news agency Sunday. "We will continue deliveries as long as there is demand."

Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Egypt cut links with Qatar last Monday, accusing Doha of supporting and financing terrorism in the Middle East and elsewhere -- a charge Qatar denies.

Separately, Iran is preparing to send a flotilla of warships first to Oman and then later to international waters north of the Indian Ocean and the Gulf of Aden, Tasnim reported.

The agency said the fleet was dispatched as part of Iran's commitments to fight international piracy, and did not mention tensions with Arab countries involved in the spat with Qatar.
...
Iran is more likely to be engaged in clandestine operations to provide weapons to its proxies in the region.  As for the food shortage, Sec. Tillerson has also raised that referring to the around 10,000 US troops in Qatar.  I see no reason why the Pentagon cannot supply mRE's to US troops on an emergency basis.  In fact, there are probably warehouses with them in the area.

But Iran's meddling does appear to confirm the ties to that country by Qatar that were one of the sources of complaint.

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